SF Giants promote home run masher Adam Duvall, place Angel Pagan on the disabled list

With Angel Pagan’s back not sufficiently improved to let him play, the Giants placed their leadoff hitter and center fielder on the 15-day disabled list and recalled power-hitting corner infielder Adam Duvall from Triple-A Fresno.

Duvall has landed at SFO and will be in uniform for this afternoon’s game. Pagan’s DL stint is retroactive 10 days, so he will be eligible to return as soon as Tuesday.

Duvall, 25, was the Giants’ 11th-round pick in 2010 out of the University of Louisville and was leading the Pacific Coast League with 23 home runs when he got the call. He largely plays third base, but manager Bruce Bochy plans to give him occasional starts at first base, allowing Michael Morse to play in left field.

Stats in the PCL can be inflated, but as manager Bruce Bochy said, “I don’t care where you are. That’s a lot of home runs. We saw him in spring training. He’s got easy power. You’re never going to hit as many home runs here as in Triple-A, but he’s got that power.”

Nobody in the room has seen him more than second baseman Joe Panik, who rose through the Giants’ system with Duvall and saw the right-handed hitter’s transformation over the past few seasons.

Hitting has become so easy for Duvall, “It’s almost like a video game for him,” Panik said.

“His approach has improved greatly. Just watching him over the past couple of years, everybody knows he can hit the ball more than a mile. Now he’s recognizing breaking pitches and understanding pitches. When he looks for something, he doesn’t miss it.”

Duvall will wear uniform No. 37

Meanwhile, Bochy revealed that he and pitching coach Dave Righetti held a meeting with the starting pitchers, who have built a 5.85 ERA over the past 14 games. Bochy would not divulge the nature of the discussion, but based on history he probably told them to be more aggressive. The starters have not been attacking the zone, especially when ahead in the count. Perhaps he told them to pitch inside more and make the hitters less comfortable.

Again, that’s me talking.

The Giants hope to avert being swept at home by the Padres for the first time since 2010. They have lost five in a row at home. Their last six-game losing streak at AT&T Park was in 2008.

“It’s gotten a little long. I’ll admit that,” Bochy said of the Giants’ funk. “Especially at home That’s what makes it difficult, in our ballpark, it’s sold out every night. That’s where you think you’ll get things right.”

One other note: Marco Scutaro played three innings and went 0-for-2 in his first rehab game for the Giants’ Arizona Rookie League team. One of my Twitter scouts, @stephan_jones13, said Scutaro grounded out to third, lined out to second and said his back was s0-s0.